CA 3 articles

Union



A year ago when the real estate market still bubbled, Kate Woolley, a single mother of three young children, could not afford a house of her own.

But with prices in Nevada County continuing to fall in a nationwide market decline and motivated sellers offering better-than-ever deals, Woolley will move into her own townhouse next week.

"This would have been impossible a year ago. This is huge for me," Woolley said Wednesday.

Buyers like Woolley shine on the bright side of news that others might view as bleak.

In May, the median price for a house or condominium sold in Nevada County dropped slightly more than 5 percent to $460,000, down from $484,500 in May 2006, according to figures released by DataQuick Information Systems in San Diego and posted on the Web at www.dqnews.com.

Placer and Sacramento counties also showed year-over-year declines, while El Dorado County rose less than half a percent, DataQuick reported.

Across California, the pace of sales continued to slow to levels not seen in a dozen years. The median price, however, rose 2.5 percent to $484,000, though markets showed wild swings from county to county, according to DataQuick figures collected from county recorder's offices.

In the nine Bay Area counties, the median price for May rose 3.4 percent from the median a year earlier to $660,00. In Southern California counties, the year-over-year median for May rose 4.9 percent to $505,000, DataQuick reported.

In Nevada County, an older, three-bedroom house that once would have fetched more than $400,000 now sells for well under that bar. With more than three times the number of houses on the market than a year ago (see The Union's interview with Nevada County Board of Realtors President Chauncey Poston), frustrated sellers are reaching out to buyers like Woolley with new incentives.

Some sellers are paying closing costs and offering to buy down interest rates to sell houses that have been on the market for a year or more. Those who fear foreclosure are slashing their prices.

That's good news for buyers who can grab the opportunity a downturn offers.

Yet most middle-class buyers still face several hurdles to home ownership, one local Realtor cautioned.



No more treading water

A divorce and bad credit made it difficult for Woolley to get into a home during the hot market, she said.

"I haven't really been able to keep our heads above water," said Woolley, who works seven days a week as a real estate agent for Keller Williams in Grass Valley.

But in the cooler market now, Woolley will move her family into a new IronHorse townhouse with the help of no down payment and a lease option to buy the house.

Some sellers of high-end properties have dropped prices by as much as $300,000 after watching them stagnate on the market for more than a year, said Marilyn Seolas of RE/MAX Advantage.

Chuck and Jill Ragan, both in their early 30s, searched for two years and walked through an estimated 100 county houses before finding the right one in Grass Valley to call home, they said.

That patience and diligence paid off, Chuck Ragan said.

"It kind of worked in our favor that we had such bad luck at first. We found ourselves in a buyer's market," Ragan said.

Still a way to go

Potential buyers still face monthly payments on prices twice as high as a few years back. Police officers, nurses and teachers who live in the county continue to have trouble purchasing a home, Seolas said.

More barriers could lie ahead.

"Prices are coming down, but interest rates are creeping up," Seolas added.

Interest rates are hovering at 6.5 percent to 7 percent and are expected to rise, she said. When Seolas entered real estate 26 years ago, rates were as high as 18 percent - but homes cost far less.

Without a foot in the door or someone such as a parent to help out with a down payment, many struggle to get into the housing market while trying to keep up with the high cost of living, Seolas said.

"Somewhere in here, we have to hit a happy medium," she said.

ooo

To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail laurab@ theunion.com or call 477-4231.

Median real estate prices in Nevada County
May 07 May 06 % change
Nevada County $460,000 $484,500 -5.06
Grass Valley $410,000 $405,000 1.23
Nevada City $450,000 $487,250 -7.64
Penn Valley $405,000 $412,000 -1.7
Truckee $617,750 $600,000 2.96
— Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Union



Chauncey Poston, president of the Nevada County Association of Realtors and Grass Valley City Councilman, talked with The Union this week about the real estate market downturn and its impact on the local economy. Here are some excerpts from the interview:

What have been the effects of the downturn in the local real estate market?

From a municipality standpoint, we have over 600 approved of- and yet-to-be-built-homes in Grass Valley, and that is largely due to the downturn in the market. You have developers who have permission to build the homes, but they're not pulling the permits to start because of the conditions out there. On a larger scale, the economy here in Nevada County and Grass Valley is very dependent on building. So, when the building stops, no one is buying furniture and no one is buying new plants. All the businesses really take a hit.

How long do you expect the real estate downturn to last?

I have no idea. ... When I attended a California Association of Realtors meeting in Sacramento three weeks ago, they seem to say we're going to have another downturn of 7 percent, but the values up here shouldn't be all that bad. The values that will plummet will be in places like the Central Valley, where there's a lot of brand-new construction. ... We don't really have that up here. ... I think we're going to be fine up here, in terms of not having massive foreclosures like in heavily urban areas.

Are there any bright spots in the real estate market?

If you are a buyer and you have money and staying power, now is the time for you to make a good investment.

What are some of the good deals to be had in western Nevada County?

They're all over. It just depends on where you want to live. We have such a varied selection up here. ... Alta Sierra and Lake Wildwood, those are some of the easier places to purchase because there are so many available.

Do you sense any issues as far as the quality of the local housing stock?

If you talk about quality, there are some absolutely drop-dead gorgeous, very expensive homes on the market right now. In the town of Grass Valley, there are a lot of older, smaller homes that are really wonderful opportunities for the first-time home buyer.

Compare the number of homes being sold locally to the homes on the market.

A couple years ago, homes didn't stay on the market very long at all. We had the whole phenomenon of competing prices, where people would actually bid, but this is not occurring now. I think I heard a figure that there are more than 1,500 listings on the market right now. I can remember when there were only 400. Yes, the supply is way up.


Signal


Sales of single-family homes in the Santa Clarita Valley are down sharply from a year ago, according to statistics released Wednesday, yet the median price of homes continues to rise in most sections of the valley.

Sales in the SCV are down 21 percent this year compared to last year, according to real estate agent Pam Ingram of Re/Max. A similar drop has occurred statewide, with sales down 25 percent in May from the same period last year, officials with the California Association of Realtors said.

But the median price for a single-family home in May was $615,000 in the SCV, up from the January price of $531,000 and up 3.4 percent over April's prices, according to a report from the Southern Regional Association of Realtors.

The association reports inventory in the Santa Clarita Valley remains high, with 2,240 active listings in the month of May.

A total of 179 single-family homes closed escrow during May, 23.5 percent down from a year ago.

The apparent violation of the law of supply and demand has created a recent increase in business for Debbie Penny, Realtor and broker/owner of Legacy Real Estate Group in Santa Clarita.

However, she says, "I don't trust it'll last. I don't see this as being long-term."

Nationally, home sales surged 12.5 percent in April, but analysts say they believe it was a one-time occurrence due to weather and other factors. In every other month this year, sales have fallen nationally, and so have home prices. The median price of a new home sold in April was down 0.9 percent from a year ago, and sales slid throughout the nation except in the Midwest.

Home prices are expected to fall in most of the nation throughout the coming months. But in parts of California, the picture is different.

The median price of a single-family detached home in May was $591,180 statewide, up 4.8 percent from a year ago.

Reports of a massive housing slump have brought out the bargain hunters in the Santa Clarita Valley, but it's not necessarily a buyer's market, said Penny.

"Buyers have a little more in (their) favor than there was two years ago," she said. "(But) the buyers aren't going to get everything they want, and the seller's not going to get everything they want. There's give and take on both sides."

But the bargain hunters are out there for those anxious to sell, said Ingram.

"Right now, the buyers are looking for deals," she said. "They're looking for the best house for the least amount of money, and unfortunately, the sellers are having to reduce their prices to be in the market."

California Association of Realtors President Colleen Badagliacco said the decline in home sales doesn't necessarily translate to affordable housing.

"With prices holding steady or showing marginal declines in many parts of the state, affordability will continue to be a problem even with mortgage rates that remain near historic lows," Badagliacco said in a statement.

Many unknown factors plague the current market, Ingram said, ranging from people simply testing the waters to a potential foreclosure market.

Forecasting the future of housing prices is impossible, Penny said wryly, adding that "I don't have the crystal ball."

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Copyright:The Signal

Advanced Search


©2007 The-Signal.com
News & Advertising: 661-259-1234 / Circulation: 661-259-1000
MAP: 24000 Creekside Rd., Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Get more local news from The Signal · SUBSCRIBE TODAY